TUESDAY, September 11, 2001, will live in my
memory as a day which proved,both in the United States and in Zimbabwe, how
much misery is caused bythose who lose touch with reality and act out
fantasies in the name of some"group" or cause.

In nearly four decades
in journalism, I have reported many wholly evildeeds, and got to know their
perpetrators, yet I have never met a whollyevil person.

Most of us
have a streak of evil within us that may be brought out undercertain
circumstances, particularly of group self-worship.

During the 1965-80
phase of the war here, I met a gentle, unselfish, kindly,middle-aged
Englishman who was reticent about the medal he had received asan "escape
artist" in German prison camps during the World War 2.

Years after his
death I found out why: a relative confided he was haunted byhis part in the
murder of a fellow British prisoner, accused of being aninformer. The young
suspect, whose guilt was never proved, was drowned in apit latrine -- still
begging for mercy.

At least the man could still feel guilt.

Too
often, perpetrators of terror become "prisoners of their memories", asthe
American journalist Eugene Lyons wrote about Stalin's secret policemen,and
as we have seen in this country over the past 21 years.

Most of us have a
streak of egotism and aggression and we feel it findslegitimate release when
we are doing something noble for an unselfish"cause".

Rule Britannia
goes: "The nations not so blessed as we/ Must in their turnto tyrants fall,/
While we shall flourish, shall flourish great and free,/The dread and envy
of them all!"

These smug words remind me of every heartless politician,
diplomat,journalist and academic who wants to cut a figure in Africa -- then
leave usto our fate.

The historian Arnold Toynbee noted that as
members of groups we assent to,and even propose, atrocities we would never
commit as individuals. Asmembers of groups, carried away with intoxicating
feelings of solidarity, welose touch not just with the common decencies but
even our grasp of theobvious facts.

September 11 saw men in the US
acting out on a grand scale a nightmare thatwas replicated in miniature
before my eyes in Harare's conference centre.

There is no evidence to
support many commentators' claims that 77-year-oldPresident Robert Mugabe
was taken to task by fellow presidents over hisefforts to cling to power for
another six years. Quite the contrary.

We had to wait until after 10pm
for Malawi's President Bakili Muluzi,current chairman of the 14-nation
Southern African Development Community, toconduct the long-awaited press
conference at the end of the two-day summiton the Zimbabwean
crisis.

Mugabe, his eyes closed and head nodding, accompanied Muluzi but
refused toanswer any questions.

He had, incidentally, mysteriously
disappeared for an hour on the first dayof the summit after welcoming his
guests at the airport.

President Thabo Mbeki, along with Sam Nujoma of
Namibia, Festus Mogae ofBotswana and Joaquim Chissano of Mozambique, shunned
the briefing althoughthey approved a communique we were given late on
Tuesday night.

This gem of a document blamed the region's economic
problems not on themurder, with total impunity, of over 100 suspected Mugabe
opponents, nor theinvasions of farms and factories, nor chronic corruption
and misgovernment,but on -- wait for it -- "the projection of a negative
image of Zimbabwe".

This must now be countered by "more objective
portrayal", said the text.

No wonder the snake oil salesmen could
convince Mbeki HIV does not causeAids.

I reminded Muluzi that even
while the presidents were meeting, mobs hadassaulted a rancher, David
Joubert, outside a magistrate's court at Inyatiin Matabeleland, while police
looked on. I cited specific instances wherefarmers were still besieged in
their homesteads by "war veterans".

Mugabe opened his eyes to give me the
sort of look I once received in acoldroom at Port St Francis -- from a fish
they'd had on ice for six months.

Muluzi replied: "I can assure you ...
the Zimbabwe government has respondedthat they will deal with those who are
not observing the law, and themeeting has taken note of what the government
has said."

I told Muluzi I had been given a written statement by the war
veterans theprevious night stating that they would not be stopped by the
Abuja accordfrom farm occupations, nor would they accept land redistribution
at the paceat which aid monies would come from Britain and other
donors.

"Is Abuja not, therefore, a dead letter?", I asked.

A
group of militants had been admitted to the press conference (whileleading
members of civil society such as Tony Reeler of the Imani Trust andJohn
Makumbi of Transparency International were rigorously barred from
thebuilding throughout the summit). They included the notorious
JosephChinotimba who now affects a leopardskin cap of the type worn by the
lateMobutu Sese Seko.

They barracked me while I was putting my
question and, led by presidentialpress aide George Charamba, applauded
loudly when Muluzi accused me of"putting words in the war veterans'
mouths".

The war veterans had been "very aggressive" in putting their
case to thepresidents, but this was understandable in view of the depth of
theircommitment, said Muluzi. (Mbeki's spokesmen denied he walked out
duringthis).

Must we be charitable toward those who become very
aggressive, merelybecause they are "deeply committed"?

"Please be
assured that the war veterans are going to co-operate and fromwhat I can see
they are really working together with the government toadhere to the rule of
law," Muluzi told me.

No one doubts that the "war veterans" -- in reality
a Zanu (PF) partymilitia, say Reeler and Makumbe -- are working together
with the government,but the Zanu (PF) idea of the law is that they make it
up as they go along.

Mugabe's information machine, true to form, said on
Friday that the latestviolence was all contrived by white farmers and their
black labourers, totry to derail land reform.

Is this the reality of
which the presidents, including Mbeki, want "moreobjective
portrayal"?

Makumbe -- whom the presidents refused to see -- says
ordinary Zimbabweansask: "What has land to do with my sister's rape? What
has land to do withthe abduction of my husband, whose grave I don't
know?"

Blind loyalty towards people of our own colour, or faith, or
persuasion ofopinions, at the expense of individual integrity, common sense
andcompassion, is not where humanity ought to be heading in this
century.

Ultimately, it is getting this message across to the ordinary
people whocomprise the world's billions that is going to make or
break"globalisation".

With increasing literacy and such things as
access to the Internet, givingaccess in turn to the protections of globally
organised civil society, weought to be working toward a world with more
democratic personal relations,greater individual dignity and individual
feelings of self-worth.

It should be a world in which we do not have to
look to the group, to the"cause", to express our personal identity for us,
to protect us or to workout our personal frustrations.

As I went from
the conference centre to my car after Muluzi's pressconference, I was
followed into the darkness by a single figure.

When he realised I had him
under observation, he paused.

Humouring such people with glutinous
protestations of sympathy and promisesof handouts will never make them think
again.

He was no longer faceless and anonymous, nor part of an excited
group, butan individual liable to be held individually responsible for his
actions --if not now, then one day in the future.

HARARE, Zimbabwe (Reuters) -- Zimbabwe's ruling
party has unanimouslyendorsed a plan to end President Robert Mugabe's
controversial land seizuredrive.

Mugabe, whose personal seal is
crucial to the deal, approved the accord inprinciple more than a week ago,
but said he needed to pass it through hisZANU-PF party politburo and the
cabinet.

Under the deal, the Zimbabwean government agrees to end the land
seizureprogram in exchange for funds to implement fair and just land
reforms.

"The politburo unanimously accepted the settlement," said
EmmersonMnangagwa, administration secretary of Mugabe's ZANU-PF.

"We
accepted the settlement at our normal monthly meeting," Mnangagwa toldthe
Zimbabwe Broadcasting Corporation about the pact, under which Britainpledged
to help finance Zimbabwe's land reform program.

Mugabe said it was
critical the commonwealth ministerial meeting in Abuja,Nigeria, had
reaffirmed that land was at the core of the crisis in Zimbabweand that it
had to be settled within the law.

The Commercial Farmers Union and
Zimbabwe's main opposition party havewelcomed the agreement, but said it
would only be of importance if Mugabeimplemented it.

Under the
accord, Zimbabwe's former colonial power Britain agreed toco-finance
compensation for farmers whose land is handed to blacks.

Zimbabwe plunged
into political and economic crisis when Mugabe allowed hissupporters to
begin invading hundreds of white-owned farms in support of hisland seizure
drive.

Critics say Mugabe chose a radical land reform drive as part of a
campaignto retain power in the face of a serious political challenge. He has
been inpower since the former Rhodesia gained independence in
1980.

Police reported Monday that a white Zimbabwean farmer and 24 farm
workerswere arrested in the murder of two militants who were allegedly
killed whilemoving onto a farm targeted for government
seizure.

Farmers say there has been no let-up in attacks against them and
theirworkers since southern African leaders who met Mugabe in Harare last
weekestablished a committee to monitor the restoration of order in
Zimbabwe.

Peter Tatchell is to petition the Australian government
for the arrest of Robert Mugabe, president of Zimbabwe, at the forthcoming
Commonwealth summit in Brisbane.

Tatchell said: “Soon after I arrive in
Brisbane on 28 September I will seek to meet and persuade the Australian
attorney general and the Brisbane police chief to arrest president Mugabe for
the crime of torture under the UN Convention Against Torture 1984, which
Australia has signed, ratified and pledged to enforce. This UN Convention has
been incorporated into Australian domestic law - the Crimes (Torture) Act
1988.”

He added that these were the same laws that were used to arrest
the ex-Yugoslav president, Slobodan Milosevic. “Milosevic is under arrest,” said
Tatchell. “Mugabe must be next.”

Tatchell continued: “I will be bringing
with me affidavits from Zimbabweans tortured by Mugabe`s regime, which have been
corroborated by Amnesty International and the Zimbabwe High Court. These
affidavits provide the legal basis for Mugabe`s arrest under Australian
law.”

Tatchell has been experiencing difficulties in obtaining a visa for
his trip to Brisbane despite being an accredited journalist. He stresses that
his intentions are law-abiding and peaceful.

The outspoken gay rights
campaigner was assaulted by Mugabe`s bodyguards in Brussels in February when he
attempted a citizen`s arrest of Mugabe. He has launched a Human Rights Fund to
help finance his ongoing fight to arrest the Zimbabwean president.

THE new Chief Justice of Zimbabwe has put forward a bench
of judges dominated by recent presidential appointees for a crucial hearing over
the Government’s land policy.

The list on the court noticeboard for the case between the Government and the
Commercial Farmers’ Union (CFU) is headed by Chief Justice Godfrey Chidyausiku,
a supporter of President Mugabe, and three other judges sworn in only last
month.

The fifth, Judge Ahmed Ibrahim, is the only name on the list who was part of
the court that once won international acclaim for its independence, before Mr
Mugabe forced Anthony Gubbay, the former Chief Justice, to resign under threat
of violence in March.

The three other court judges, two blacks and a white who served with Mr
Gubbay, have been excluded.

Victory for the Government would effectively close off one of the last
sources of hope for Zimbabwe’s white farmers, opposition parties and ordinary
citizens battered by the lawlessness and violence of Mr Mugabe’s ruling Zanu
(PF) party.

Mr Mugabe is seeking approval by the court for his so-called “fast-track land
reform programme”, which amounts to little more than trucking ruling-party
supporters on to white-owned farms.

In an unprecedented move today, the CFU is to ask Mr Chidyausiku to excuse
himself from the case. The union said that according to papers filed with the
Supreme Court, he has so clearly allied himself with Mr Mugabe’s campaign to
seize white-owned land that the CFU had no confidence that he would deliver an
impartial verdict.

Two other judges, Misheck Cheda and Luke Malaba, are being asked to step down
as well, because they have been named in an official Agriculture Ministry list
for being granted large cattle ranches at nominal rent. The ranches were bought
by the Government to resettle landless peasants.

Farm union officials said yesterday that there had been no let up in the
violence and harassment on white farms, despite the Government’s commitment to
restore the rule of law and to carry out legal and sustainable land reform.

Yesterday three journalists and a driver from the independent Daily
News were receiving medical attention after being assaulted by squatters at
a farm in Wedza, about 60 miles east of Harare.

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has stressed the need
for measures to restore confidence in Zimbabwe's economic future, "particularly
through an orderly land reform process".

The IMF said in a statement on Monday that the economic
situation in Zimbabwe was "deteriorating rapidly" with poverty rising. The
statement, based on a staff assessment visit from 3-15 September, added that the
team made a number of recommendations on macroeconomic policies. "The team
recommended that the primary budget balance (which excludes interest payments)
be in substantial surplus in 2002. The loose monetary policy since early this
year has led to a rapid increase in asset prices, an acceleration of inflation
and a sharp depreciation of the Zimbabwe dollar on the parallel market," said
the statement. "The team recommended an immediate tightening of monetary policy
to reduce inflation, which has been particularly harmful for small savers,
pensioners and the poor."

According to the statement the mission "welcomed" the
targeted social nets that have been designed to address the current food crisis
and protect the poor and recommended that low priority expenditures be reduced
to allow their expansion. "It noted the risks to food security posed by control,
such as the reinstitution of the Grain Marketing Board monopoly on maize and
wheat distribution and urged that all such controls be removed," said the
statement.

It added that the team "urged" the government to adopt
comprehensive adjustment policies that would "restore growth and alleviate
poverty". "Such policies would provide a basis for clearing arrears (that
Zimbabwe has with the IMF) and an eventual resumption in financial support from
the IMF and other creditors and donors," the statement said.

The IMF team also met with representatives of civil society
such as non-governmental organisations, the business and financial communities,
political parties and trade unions.

Since February last year, 1700 white-owned farms have been
invaded in Zimbabwe and at least eight farmers and 28 black workers killed in
the process. The invasions have been sanctioned by Zimbabwe's President Robert
Mugabe and carried out by militants, led by so-called veterans of the 1970s
liberation war. Earlier this month militants, the President's supporters,
launched assaults in Matabeleland province, occupying three goldmines, setting
fire to farm land and warning whites to leave the country or die. In the
previous month 40,000 British nationals in Zimbabwe were told that they must
renounce their right to a British passport this year if they wish to retain
Zimbabwean citizenship.

These violent actions have severely weakened a shaky economy
and it is feared that the farm seizures will result in food shortages. In an
attempt to stop the crisis, Mr Mugabe was offered a deal at a meeting of
Commonwealth foreign ministers in Nigeria earlier this month. Under the
agreement, Britain will release £36 million to pay for land reform if Mr Mugabe
restores the rule of law and takes "firm action against intimidation and
violence". But little more than a week since Mr Mugabe agreed to the plan, the
seizures are continuing. Indeed, last weekend two more people were feared dead
after militants set fire to houses on white-owned farms they were illegally
occupying.

Suspicions that Mr Mugabe's agreement to the plan was merely a
tactical measure aimed at ducking pressure at next month's Commonwealth Heads of
Government Meeting in Brisbane appear to be justified. As part of the agreement,
Mr Mugabe said he would not condone any violence on the farms, although there is
strong evidence that his party has been behind the violence that has occurred so
far. In August a document belonging to his Zanu PF party outlined the political
goals of the campaign against white farmers. It read in part: "The operation
should be thoroughly planned so that farmers are systematically harassed and
mentally tortured and their farms destabilised until they give up."

Hypocrisy and cynicism have been the hallmarks of the
farm-seizure campaign. Although the invaders have been called war veterans, in
order to give them some moral legitimacy, many are too young to be veterans.
Seizing commercial farmland, and placing it in the hands of inexperienced thugs,
does not help Zimbabwe's economy or its respect for law and so far has masked a
deeper political crisis. While the British deal recognises that genuine land
redistribution issues are at stake, it would be most unfortunate if Mr Mugabe
believed his policies were sanctioned by the Commonwealth. It is to be hoped
that a rigorous scrutiny of Zimbabwe's policies continues at the Brisbane
summit.

VICTORIA FALLS, Zimbabwe, Sept 18 (Reuters) - Zimbabwe's cotton
farmers may be reluctant to plant a fresh crop until they have clarity on the
fate of their lands after a controversial land seizure drive, a senior industry
official said on Tuesday.

Neville Brown,
vice president of Zimbabwe's Commercial Cotton Growers Association said
"virtually all" commercial cotton farms had either been listed for compulsory
government acquisition or were occupied by pro-government militants who have
invaded white-owned farms since last February.

"We have come to a situation where we are very close to the
planting season and we are requiring from our president (Robert Mugabe) an
indication of whether or not we're going to be able to plant," Brown told
Reuters in an interview.

The new cotton
season starts in October.

"That's got to
come very soon because as commercial farmers a lot of the cotton we produce is
produced by irrigation and it is very important that that crop is planted
early," Brown said on the sidelines of the 60th plenary of the International
Cotton Advisory Committee at Zimbabwe's resort town of Victoria
Falls.

Militants led by veterans of
Zimbabwe's 1970's liberation war have invaded white-owned farms in what they say
is a show of support for Mugabe's drive to confiscate nearly two thirds of the
12 million hectares of farm land owned by whites for redistribution to landless
blacks.

"It is difficult to see what it is
that the government wishes to see in place. If they are going to take over all
the farms, then we also need to know that," Brown said.

"Commercial farming has a specific niche in the country, and a
lot of those people that are being put there have neither the experience or the
infrastructure to do it at this stage.

"I
would much rather see an evolutionary process rather than a revolutionary
process, so that the people that you're putting on the land are in fact people
who can maintain the level of production that currently exists on those
commercial farms," Brown added.

He said
between 120 and 150 farmers produced cotton on a commercial basis and accounted
for about 15 percent of Zimbabwe's national crop.

The land crisis had affected cotton output to some extent last
year "but the potential for its effect this year, if the current situation
continues to apply, would be very dramatic. It would virtually wipe out
commercial cotton production," Brown said.

Over a week ago Mugabe endorsed a Nigerian-brokered plan,
struck in Abuja, to end farm seizures in exchange for funds to implement a fair
and just land reform programme.

"We have
not yet got an indication as to whether the talks that have been going on
recently in Abuja and subsequently in Harare are going to give us some clarity
and some direction," Brown said.

"The
capacity of the economy or the donor community or where ever funding comes from
should determine the speed of that (land reform) process in my opinion," said
Brown.

Zimbabwe produces about 100,000
tonnes of cotton a year, accounting for barely 1.5 percent of world output, but
the crop is a major foreign currency earner for the southern African country.

COLLIN Chiwanza, 28, a
Daily News reporter, went missing after he and three colleagues were assaulted
by a mob of 20 at Bita Farm in Hwedza yesterday.

The reporter was found last
night more than eight hours after fleeing into the bush to escape the attack by
the farm invaders. The attack took place in the presence of Assistant
Commissioner Wayne Bvudzijena, the official police spokesperson. Mduduzi
Mathuthu, another reporter, Urginia Mauluka, a photographer, and Trust Maswela
Mpofu, the driver, were also assaulted with fists, chains and poles. The
team was saved by an armed soldier who threatened to shoot the attackers when he
realised the four were in danger of being critically injured or even fatally
assaulted. The three then fled. Mathuthu, Mauluka and Mpofu sustained
swellings and bruises all over their bodies. They also lost at least $2 700 and
some of their particulars during the attack. The invaders confiscated the crew’s
wallets and camera, which were later returned to them after a policeman
intervened. Mathuthu said Bvudzijena was travelling with John Karimazondo, a
Zimbabwe Broadcasting Corporation reporter, in a police Defender vehicle. Last
night, Bvudzijena, although admitting he was at the farm, denied witnessing the
attack. He said: “I don’t have any comment on that issue. I think they are
confusing me with someone else.” The Daily News team reported the assault at
Mahusekwa Police Station in the Marondera district, who gave them “requests for
medical report forms”. The police said they would refer the case to Hwedza
Police Station. Last night, Hwedza police said they were still looking for
Chiwanza. “We have sent police officers to the farm to look for him,” said an
Inspector Nyamutamba of Hwedza Police Station under whose jurisdiction Bita Farm
falls. The news team was about to get into their car after completing an
assignment when they were confronted by the mob which arrived in three vehicles
a yellow Nissan pick-up truck with a white canopy, a green Land-Rover and a grey
Nissan UD lorry, suspected to belong to the police. The mob disembarked from
the vehicles, ordered the news team to sit on the ground and started questioning
them. They accused them of having been sent by the British and the MDC. They
claimed that The Daily News was scuttling the government’s land reform
programme. The mob then separated the four Daily News staffers and assaulted
them for at least half an hour before the intervention of the soldier. Rex
Mphisa and Regis Nyandima, reporter and photographer, respectively, with the
government-controlled Herald, who arrived later, covered the event without being
harassed. Chiwanza sought refuge at one of the farms in the area. Before
yesterday’s attack, one of the workers at the farm said about 35 land invaders
were dropped by a truck at the farm on Saturday night. The invaders ordered
the workers to vacate their houses, saying they now belonged to the settlers,
resulting in violent clashes. Two resettled farmers were reportedly killed and
several workers sustained serious injuries in the clashes. The bodies of the
dead settlers are at Hwedza Police Station.

ABOUT 2 000 families
have been evicted from 14 commercial farms in Hwedza by war veterans and Zanu PF
supporters who rampaged through the rich farming community over the past few
days, forcing both the workers and the farmers to flee for safety.

Colin Cloete, the president
of the Commercial Farmers Union, said at least 19 commercial farmers in the area
have had serious work stoppages following visits from war veterans, while 14
farms are now virtually deserted. Groups of rowdy war veterans have taken
over the farms under the government-sponsored fast-track resettlement scheme.
Cloete said five farms in the area have had sporadic work stoppages. He
said: “The farmers in Hwedza are negotiating with the local district
administrator, the police and the war veterans so that they can be allowed to go
back to their farms and continue farming.” So serious is the problem that
thousands of farm workers, including children, have been living in the bush
while others have gone to their relatives. Isiah Kufa, a worker at Fels
Estates said on Tuesday a group of war veterans descended on the farm and
evicted all the workers. Kufa has been living on the farm for the past 10
years and he has no other home. Some of the affected farms are Nhumwa,
Markwe, Imbima, Igudu, Idube, Fels, Rapako, Bolton, Leeds, Poltimore, Shaka,
Hull, Lifton, Nelsons, Saltash, Iamba and Corby. All the farmers have sought
refuge elsewhere, leaving behind unattended crops, cattle and household
property. Craig Coleman of Malaba Farm in Marondera was held hostage for a
day. He later escaped through an opening on his security wall. The war
veterans had threatened to kill him if he did not leave the farm in their hands.
Coleman’s farm workers said the war veterans told them they wanted to set up
a training centre for Zanu PF youths within the area. Most of the workers
said they had nowhere else to go and were depending on assistance from
sympathisers, mostly commercial farmers.

Food
shortages loom in ZimbabweHARARE Thousands
of people living in southern Zimbabwe are facing starvation as critical food
shortages loom, aid agencies and officials said yesterday.

The food crisis in southern Zimbabwe has been blamed on a variety of factors,
including a devastating cyclone in early 2000, a January drought which destroyed
this year's maize crop, and ongoing disruptions to farming due to land
invasions.

Since February 2000, government supporters have invaded hundreds of
white-owned commercial farms to push for faster land reforms.

One hundred thousand children in the southern provinces of Midlands and
Masvingo, are being given a supplementary meal every day by Care International,
a Care official said.

Food shortages in Mberengwa, in the arid and drought-prone Matabeleland South
province are critical, Rugare Gumbo, the ruling Zanu (PF) MP for Mberengwa East
said. "We do have a desperate situation," said Gumbo, but could not give exact
figures of people needing assistance, saying officials in the area were still
compiling them. More than 180000 people live in Mberengwa, according to the
Central Statistical Office's recent census.

Meanwhile, the opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) has alleged
that foodfor-work programmes carried out between January and April in Mberengwa
had been reserved for ruling party card-carriers.

"In that area people are starving while Zanu (PF) plays this kind of
politics," said Sekai Holland, the MDC candidate for Mberengwa East, who lost to
Gumbo in last year's elections.

In Harare, the Famine Early Warning System (FEWS) said in its latest report
that food security in rural areas such as Mberengwa was "critical".

FEWS said the country's stocks of grain were due to run out in two weeks'
time, just as rural households in southern and western Zimbabwe were expected to
run out of grain supplies.

Last month Zimbabwean Agriculture Minister Joseph Made said the country was
set to import 100000 tons of maize from SA in a bid to avert the looming food
shortages. He said the maize would be stored until April or May 2002, when he
estimated the country's maize stocks would be depleted. Sapa-AFP.

"We accepted the settlement at our normal monthly meeting," Mnangagwa told
the Zimbabwe Broadcasting Corporation about the pact, under which Britain
pledged to help finance Zimbabwe's land reform program.

Mugabe said it was critical the commonwealth ministerial meeting in Abuja,
Nigeria, had reaffirmed that land was at the core of the crisis in Zimbabwe and
that it had to be settled within the law.

The Commercial Farmers Union and Zimbabwe's main opposition party have
welcomed the agreement, but said it would only be of importance if Mugabe
implemented it.

Under the accord, Zimbabwe's former colonial power Britain agreed to
co-finance compensation for farmers whose land is handed to blacks.

Zimbabwe plunged into political and economic crisis when Mugabe allowed his
supporters to begin invading hundreds of white-owned farms in support of his
land seizure drive.

Critics say Mugabe chose a radical land reform drive as part of a campaign to
retain power in the face of a serious political challenge. He has been in power
since the former Rhodesia gained independence in 1980.

Police reported Monday that a white Zimbabwean farmer and 24 farm workers
were arrested in the murder of two militants who were allegedly killed while
moving onto a farm targeted for government seizure.

Farmers say there has been no let-up in attacks against them and their
workers since southern African leaders who met Mugabe in Harare last week
established a committee to monitor the restoration of order in Zimbabwe.

ELLIOT Pfebve, the
losing MDC candidate in the recent parliamentary by-election in Bindura, was
arrested yesterday morning as he reported a second break-in at his city centre
offices at the Harare Central Police Station.

Three weeks ago, the
offices of his company, Computer Africa, were broken into, but there have been
no arrests. Pfebve suspects the burglaries are politically motivated. In the
run-up to the June 2000 parliamentary election, his brother, Matthew, was killed
in the political violence that characterised Zanu PF’s campaign for the Bindura
seat, won by the late Border Gezi of Zanu PF, who died in a road accident in
May. Yesterday morning, the Law and Order section of Harare Central Police
Station arrested Pfebve on allegations of attempted murder. He was still
detained by late yesterday afternoon. Pfebve’s arrest stems from an incident
in July when Morgan Tsvangirai, the MDC president, escaped unhurt after an
attack on his convoy in Chiveso village in the run-up to the by-election in
Bindura. All the 13 vehicles in the motorcade were damaged. Zanu PF youths
allegedly hurled stones while some gunshots were fired from where the supporters
were positioned. Learnmore Jongwe, the MDC spokesman, yesterday confirmed
Pfebve’s arrest. “Interestingly, there is no complainant,” said Jongwe.
“This is Zanu PF’s view of justice, but we are prepared to fill their jails.
This harassment will not halt the people’s resolve to complete the change they
started in June 2000.” Pfebve said a computer, a stove and a number of tools
were missing from his office, whose drawers were ransacked and left open,
indicating that someone had rummaged through them. Pfebve is one of three
citizens suing President Mugabe in the United States for human rights abuses,
following the murder of his brother, Matthew, by suspected Zanu PF supporters in
the run-up to last year’s poll.